China conducting joint military exercises with 5 ASEAN Member States
China is conducting joint military exercises this week with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. In doing so, it is seeking to strengthen military ties with the ASEAN Member States amidst growing US presence in the region.
Earlier this week China kicked off the Aman Youyi (Peace and Friendship) 2023 joint military exercise with five ASEAN Member States, with participating troops from China, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. This development is representative of political divisions within the ASEAN region, which has become the subject of an intensifying strategic competition between the United States and China to strengthen military ties in the Asia-Pacific.
The move by China comes after an announcement in April of this year that the US plans to establish a presence at four military bases in the Philippines, another ASEAN Member State. Some of the military bases are reportedly located in the north of the Philippines, facing Taiwan. The US announcement was criticised by the Chinese embassy in Manila as part of a US attempt to ‘encircle and contain’ China. Shortly after, the Global Times — a Chinese state-owned tabloid — identified the Aman Youyi as part of the Chinese effort to counter the US strengthening its military ties with the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea.
The joint military exercises began on Monday 13 November and will run until 22 November. Aman Youyi 2023 is the fifth edition of these exercises, but marks the first time that Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos join, as well as the first time that China is hosting. The Philippines, which has previously joined the exercises as an observer, is not participating this year.
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